I finally went and did it!

This one’s for Frank Prem who’s been hounding strenuously encouraging me to try and interest a bookshop in my books. Well, today I walked into the independent bookshop in Eltham and asked if I could leave a free sample of my work. 🙂

The sample is my tiny book of sci-fi short stories:

The paperback of The Egg is so thin, there’s no room on the spine for the title! But when I realised how cheaply I could print it on IngramSpark, I decided to use it as my ‘calling card’.

Getting back to that bookshop, I’ve been carrying a copy of The Egg around with me for weeks, but the moment was never right. It was too hot, too cold, I wasn’t dressed ‘appropriately’, I was too busy with other things…in short, I was a coward. I’m still a coward, but something clicked in my brain today, and I did the deed. I was dressed to do supermarket shopping so probably looked like a deranged bag lady, but I did it!

The owner of the shop was very nice and said she’d have to look at the book before offering it to her customers, even as a free sample. I reassured her that I expected nothing less. In reality, however, I don’t expect her to read it at all, and I don’t expect her to get in contact with me for another sample. Why? Because looking around the shop, I realised that sci-fi, even from big, traditional authors, is only a very small part of the books offered for sale. So the Egg is not exactly a good ‘fit’.

I also realised that dealing with a self-published author would inevitably cause a disruption to the normal processes of the shop. Why go to so much bother for a genre that probably doesn’t sell very well? Realistically, that is the truth, and I suspect I’d probably feel the same if the roles were reversed.

Nevertheless, I’m not disappointed. I overcame my nerves and gave it a shot, and that was the real purpose of the exercise. To prove to myself that I could. Next stop will be a second hand bookshop in Warrandyte and a cafe that leaves books lying around on the tables for customers to read.

If you guys have any suggestions for real world ‘marketing’, I’m all ears!

cheers

Meeks

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About acflory

I am the kind of person who always has to know why things are the way they are so my interests range from genetics and biology to politics and what makes people tick.
For fun I play online mmorpgs, read, listen to a music, dance when I get the chance and landscape my rather large block.
Work is writing. When a story I am working on is going well I'm on cloud nine. On bad days I go out and dig big holes...
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65 responses to “I finally went and did it!”

What a great idea, and bravo to you for going for it… twice. If you have a local library maybe you can donate copies of your books. Sometimes when I love a book I’ve borrowed I go looking for a copy of my own.

Hi EllaD. 😀 I did try the Warrandyte library first but they knocked me back, sight unseen. Apparently they were getting too many self-publishers so decided no self-pubs at all. -shrug- Was a bit disappointing.

I’ve found I can wear my jewellery and get leads that way, but with a book? that’s going to be much harder. I think you want to look out for events and area that are likely to attract the kind pf discerning person who reads your work – it’s not ‘just’ scifi – it’s really well written stories, with an edge.
Perhaps check out local independent cinemas for any special showings of classics (our local Picturehouse often has classic days – directors cut of Bladerunner, It’s A Wonderful Life – all sorts of things) that you think might appeal, and perhaps, pop along and see if you can have a tiny space to stand and make your offerings, and yes, I agree with MarianAllen – any level of convention / fair is a deffo. Print at least one of everything, and a few of the standalones and Miira and then, when someone buys their first, you can offer to print, sign , dedicate and post them along if they liked the one they bought enough to order later. Perhaps have a special email address just for that, and write it in the fly of the book they buy, so that wherever that book ends up, then next reader knows where to get more. And yes. Courage and good luck. And hugs 😉 x

We don’t have any local cinemas but I did go to a local cafe today. Last time I was there I noticed that there were books just lying around for customers to read [not buy].
Went in today and it had changed hands but the book exchange was still there and the cafe owner was very encouraging so that makes 2!
I’ve got one more copy of THE EGG but it doesn’t have an email address in it, only the blog and Twitter info. I really like the idea of having a dedicated email address. In the new year I’ll put in an order for some more prints and make sure they have an email address inside.
-grin- you’ve clearly done this before.

Mmm…I only have one of the old batch left so I’d rather make it all pretty. Will definitely have it done for the next lot I get printed. Just waiting until after xmas coz there’s so much else to spend money on. -rolls eyes- One year I’ll just put my foot down and refuse to get caught up in the madness….

Dropped a second book off at a different place today. Frank is right, it does get easier every time. Today’s effort was a little book exchange at a local cafe. The books are there for the customers to browse, take home, swap. Why don’t you see if you can find some place nice to leave one of yours?

Here’s a listing of “geek events” in Australia, which has a robust speculative fiction community. http://www.geekeventsaustralia.com/events/category/science-fiction-fantasy/ If you can’t afford a table to go sell your books, but you can afford to print off some postcards with covers and buy links, just attend some and pass that literature around. Maybe print a few copies of EGG and leave them on the giveaway table. Volunteer to do panels, and you could get your attendance free!

That’s FANTASTIC!! For getting your work out there, and for having the courage to walk through the door.
Using “The Vintage Egg” as a sample is a good idea. It gives her something tangible, like a 3D business card. I assume that you have stuck your real business card into the book? I mean stuck, so that it can’t slip out. Make it obvious.
You probably already do this…..Surely booksellers are more interested if they know you have the runs on the board. So I would give them an A4 sheet with screen shots of Amazon etc, showing the stars, reviews etc that you have already received.
Libraries?

Um…I had some general ‘About the Author’ in the actual book – blog url and twitter – but…I didn’t include anything else.
Okay, that was probably a goof. Will do some kind of promotional sheet thingie to go with the next one.

I’ve found mu local area very supportive, with a couple of shops not wanting their wholesale discount unless the book become a significant seller. They’re great, and they often have a book club associated with them, and a program of promotion.

You’re welcome. I think book stores have been under threat themselves in recent years and have needed to do things like support book launches and foster reading groups to stay viable in their own communities.

That’s very true, but there’s still a strong prejudice against self-published authors. And it extends to at least some libraries. When I tried to leave a [free] copy of Miira with the Warrandyte library, I was told point blank that they won’t touch self-published authors. Policy.
As the person hadn’t even glanced at my book, I felt as if I’d been slapped. That’s part of the reason it’s been so hard for me to try again.

Yep, you can get a taste for it. I was thinking re previous conversation. I’m pretty sure they want a publisher who is the supplier of the books and the business entity, but that isn’t really much of a big deal.

Good on you for getting with the program, Andrea. It’s scary fun, and you probably have your researching the next book placement hat on while you’re doing it, I suspect.on

Well bloody hell, Andrea, do it now, because I just today received my first shipment of 78 books (2 for presents to my olds as ‘show offs’ in the nursing home) and I’ve tonight committed to stopping traffic in a busy Dymocks on Saturday morning – meet Frank the poet.

Sadly no. I think there may have been one specialty sci-fi shop in the city, decades ago, but no idea if it even exists. Sci-fi is usually just one category, often the smallest, in our bookshops. That was one reason I started buying books from Amazon in the first place.
lol I’d actually forgotten about that. Food for thought.

Congratulations! It’s a big first step. My heart was in my throat the first time I did that. But I just sucked it up and did it. I went to three local bookstores that I’d heard were friendly to indie authors. They all agreed to take a few copies on consignment. A few sold, and I had some returned to me, and several stores changed their policies since (maybe because there are SO many authors here it got overwhelming) but it was a thrilling experience. Best of luck to you! And, what Frank said. The next one will be easier.

Thanks, Laurie. Knowing I’m not alone in this is a big help. And so is knowing that it /can/ work.

To be honest, I don’t expect to actually sell much, but I hope it will raise my profile a little, esp. if I can say that I have books available here and here. Given the cost of my paperbacks on Amazon, going to a bookshop just has to be cheaper!

Andrea, well done. It can be a difficult thing. Personally I think it’s a lot like an acting role – ‘become’ the author or whatever for the purpose of the presentation.

The next one will be easier. I have a feeling that you ought to talk about Miira and the series, but play it as seems right. It is the next stage (listen to me sounding like an old veteran, when I’ve got about two minutes under my belt!)